S.W.A.K. Revealed (Piece and Quilt with Precuts Blog Hop)
S.W.A.K. is the 4th quilt in the Piece and Quilt with Precuts book by Christa Watson. I am so happy to finally be able to share my finished quilt after all the sneak peeks on my Instagram!
This quilt uses Charm Packs for the half square triangles (HSTs). So keeping with the spirit of the precuts theme, I decided to use Airmail (quantity 2), Modern Background Ink (quantity 2), and Bella Solid White (less than 1) Charm Packs. Here is the first lesson: Not all Charm Packs are the same size! Seriously. You'd think they should all be 5" square, but with the pinked edges the square is sometimes larger or smaller.
I used my Frixion pen to mark the diagonals on all the lines and centered the two pieces the best I could. However, it didn't help with the finished size of the HST. The pattern calls for 4-5/8" HSTs, but mine were so inconsistent due to the charm pack size that I made the decision to trim them to 4-1/2". So I then started my long process of trimming all 168 HSTs.
I used my design wall to lay out the entire quilt before I made the blocks. I realized with the Red and Blue blocks I could make the fun Xs and Os in different colors.
Because I trimmed my HSTs, the final version of my quilt is slightly smaller than what is listed in the pattern, but it's crucial to have consistently sized HST to have a square quilt! I tried spray basting this quilt for the first time! Christa gave a demo of spray basting in her Start Up Quilting Craftsy class, and I was definitely intrigued. I must say, I think I have fallen in LOVE with spray basting. It makes quilting so much easier without having to take out pins all the time. I followed the square spiral walking foot quilting instructions in the book, and I can only imagine how hard that would have been if there were pins!
So what are my overall thoughts about the pattern and the book? It's a great book that goes from piecing instructions to how to quilt that specific design. Christa has great instructions and great tips throughout the book to help build your skills.
You can purchase a signed copy of the book from Christa's Shop or you can purchase a copy using my Amazon Affiliate link.
Don't forget that the blog hop continues through August 30 so be sure to check out all the other amazing designs and quilters!
Last but not least, since I spent all weekend migrating my blog to be self hosted and now can have Rafflecopter giveaways… Here's a giveaway for an E-copy of Piece and Quilt with Precuts! The giveaway is open until the Midnight CDT on August 31. Good Luck!
I am intrigued to read about the square spiral walking foot quilting. It looks great, can you give some more details.
Sure! You start in the middle of the quilt and you quilt a square staying in one of the corners. But the last side of the square, you quilt longer or past your starting point. Now start the spiral with the same distances to the quilted lines. Spiral meaning quilt past the end of the square the same distance, rotate 90 degrees and repeat until you’re finished the quilt. Mine were pretty organic because I eyeballed the distance, but it still turned out great!
I use a half-square ruler to square my up. It can be quite a time consuming effort, but oh so worth it in the end. This is my favorite quilt to far from Christa’s book. Thanks for the giveaway, grinnie1961 at gmail dot com
I wish I had a favorite way! I do not like the trimming of squares, but it is necessary!
Love how your quilt turned out! My favorite way to trim HST is my Bloc Loc ruler. Couldn’t quilt without it!
Lovely quilt!
Thanks for the giveaway! Hope you get some sleep tonight! Cotten.gloria@gmail.com
Love your quilt and color choices. WAY TO GO!
Love how you chose colors to stand out in your quilt-very nice! I use a June Tailor cutting template just for trimming Half-squares & Quarter-squares-very useful! Thank you, Susan
I have not seen the June Tailor cutting templates, I’ll definitely have to check them out! 🙂
I have to admit that part of my frustration in working with charm packs is the size issue. So frustrating. Your quilt is amazing. I like the play of the fabric together!
Thanks Wendy, I noticed pretty early that they weren’t exactly the same sizes… but I was hoping it wasn’t too terrible. #wishfulthinking
To trim my HST, I use a square ruler, placing the 45 degree line on the diagonal line of the HST and trim two sides, rotate and trim the two remaining sizes. A spinning rotary mat would be a plus.
I love the Bloc Loc rulers.
Thanks for being on the hop. Your quilt turned out fantastic and I love the colors you chose!
I really like the straight line quilting you did, it makes the pattern really pop.
Straight line as in square spiral. Auto correct at it’s finest.
I have the loc bloc ruler and it is just wonderful for cutting the HST.
Beautiful quilt!!
Love your version! I use the blocloc rulers for trimming HSTS!
I use my square ruler for trimming hst’s.
I put the diagonal line of my rules on the sewn line of the HST and trim twice, flip and trim again.
I love Bloc Loc Rulers, can’t beat them.
I just use a creative grids square, trim and flip.
I hate it when pre-cuts are not true to measurement, glad you found a work-around. Love the way to accented the Xs and Os. with the blue and red HST units.
I use a Block-Lockj ruler to trim my HSTs now. Love it.